East Los Angeles Health

The Southern California Bilingual HIV/AIDS Hotline in East Los Angeles commemorated World AIDS Day on Wednesday night, vowing to spread the word to the Eastside that there is a neighborhood center comforting people with AIDS.

The Southern California Bilingual HIV/AIDS Hotline in East Los Angeles commemorated World AIDS Day on Wednesday night, vowing to spread the word to the Eastside that there is a neighborhood center comforting people with AIDS.

Officials of the East Los Angeles Health Task Force last week filed a claim for damages against the county and Sheriff's Department stemming from a March 30 eviction attempt. Executive director Susan Arellano said the claim is the first step in filing a lawsuit against the county. In another development, the task force received an order two weeks ago from the county to vacate its 3,100-square-foot space at Centro Maravilla, 4716 E. Brooklyn Ave.

White Memorial Medical Center has scheduled a class to educate seniors citizens and care givers about cardiovascular disease and will offer tests for those at risk for the condition. The medical center will offer cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose screenings from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday at the Privilege Plus Senior Resource Center, 1720 Brooklyn Ave. Privilege Plus will hold a hypertension class from 1 to 3 p.m.

White Memorial Medical Center has scheduled a class to educate seniors citizens and care givers about cardiovascular disease and will offer tests for those at risk for the condition. The medical center will offer cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose screenings from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday at the Privilege Plus Senior Resource Center, 1720 Brooklyn Ave. Privilege Plus will hold a hypertension class from 1 to 3 p.m.

A Superior Court judge has blocked the county from removing a senior citizens clinic from the space it has occupied for 17 years. In March, county officials evicted the staff of the East Los Angeles Health Task Force and changed the office locks after clinic officials refused to move into a space half the size of the 3,100-square-foot location at Centro Maravilla, 4716 E. Brooklyn Ave.

The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor donated a motor home to the East Los Angeles Health Task Force last month to improve programs for substance abuse and community outreach. The motor home sleeps six to eight people and has a fully equipped kitchen so patients can take it camping, said Jim Wood of the labor group. "I know most of the residents in the substance abuse and alcohol programs have never had an opportunity to go camping and just enjoy the benefits of getting away," Wood said.

A score of protesters, some of them homeless, picketed one of East Los Angeles' busiest health clinics Tuesday in support of three medical workers dismissed from its homeless health program. The demonstrators allege that the Community Health Foundation, which provides free medical care, trumped up reasons to fire the employees because they questioned its dedication to serving the homeless or resisted unfair labor practices. Protesters said the clinic intended to eliminate its homeless program.

The East Los Angeles Health Task Force faces a Tuesday deadline ordered by a municipal Judge to move out of the county-owned Centro Maravilla, where it has been administering free health services for mostly senior citizens for 17 years. But Guy Lockhead, the attorney representing the clinic, said he would try to negotiate for extra time to move out of the center at 4716 E. Brooklyn Ave. He was not sure where the clinic would relocate.

A trial is scheduled to begin Thursday to decide a civil lawsuit brought by the county in its effort to evict the East Los Angeles Health Task Force from its space at Centro Maravilla. The task force principally provides health screenings for senior citizens. The county wanted the clinic to share its 3,100-square-foot space with three other agencies, but clinic officials balked. In March, the county dispatched sheriff's deputies to evict the staff and change the locks on the building.

Officials of the East Los Angeles Health Task Force last week filed a claim for damages against the county and Sheriff's Department stemming from a March 30 eviction attempt. Executive director Susan Arellano said the claim is the first step in filing a lawsuit against the county. In another development, the task force received an order two weeks ago from the county to vacate its 3,100-square-foot space at Centro Maravilla, 4716 E. Brooklyn Ave.

CITY COUNCIL * EXCESSIVE FORCE SUIT: Authorized the city attorney to pay $50,000 to Brian Keith Mays to settle an excessive force lawsuit stemming from an incident in South-Central on Jan. 18, 1991. Mays allegedly sold a PCP-laced cigarette to an undercover narcotics officer, and when other officers attempted to arrest him, he resisted and sustained injuries in the struggle. The city attorney was also authorized to pay Mays' lawyer the sum of $65,000.

After losing a court battle, the East Los Angeles Health Task Force has vacated the offices it occupied for 17 years at 4716 E. Brooklyn Ave. The task force, which offers free health screenings for mostly senior citizens, has moved to 2120 E. 6th St. The task force's move came after months of legal wrangling brought on by a lawsuit filed by the county, which owns Centro Maravilla, where the task force had been operating.